Monday, 18 November 2019

Latin Language Chatroom on Whatsapp

I set up a Locutorium (chatroom) on Skype, which runs quite well with around 250 members. However, fewer and fewer people use Skype regularly, and although the group was stable, and has been for a couple of years, there has been no expansion.
   I set up the new Latin Whatsapp Chatroom on the 17th November 2019, and have been very pleased to see it grow very quickly, with many more new faces appearing. 
Si per WHATSAPP confabulari per litteras vis, habemus LOCUTORIUM LATINUM , et possis illic confabulari per litteras, picturas ad alios emittere, etc.
Junge Te!


Please do join, even if you are a complete beginner, simply say hello, (you can use the formula below if you like.)  Then, just lurk. Seeing all these people chatting away in Latin will inspire you to progress in your studies, as you will see before your eyes that Latin is not a dead language, but is still the living  language of scholars that it has always been since the fall of Rome.
 The rules for the Whatsapp Locutorium will be the same rules as drawn up by John Doublier and myself on the old SCHOLA website:
 1. Latin only.
2.  Focus on communication; focus on the message, not the grammar.
  •  Cum errare humanum sit, ne timueritis scribere, metu errandi permoti. 
  • Scripta autem aliena nolite corrigere, nisi auctor auxilium petit.
  • Locutorium id agit ut Latine scribendi ars colatur. 
  • Ergo scribite tantummodo Latine.

Here is the join link.

When you join, please introduce yourself 'Salve, nomen mihi est ....." will be fine. :)

 WHY NO CORRECTING?
Why the rule about no correcting?
 Modern language theory and evidence based research tells us that over correcting, even correcting at all, is usually counter productive in the early stages of attempting to communicate in a new language.
 As long as you are actively studying the language as you go, errors will eventually resolve themselves. Fluency is achieved through action, through exposure to the language, and through struggling with using it.
 If a learner is unsure, to the degree that they are scared to communicate at all, then they will think twice before even attempting to communicate.
 You have to just wade in and take risks. No risk taking, no learning.
 So, unless a user specifically asks for help, no-one is allowed to comment on another user's grammar or Latinity. 
In reality, in the give and take of the real-time chatroom, this rule is relaxed somewhat.
HOW TO CORRECT SOMEONE POLITELY
 A polite way to correct someone is to re-phrase what they said, correctly, as part of your reply, without explicitly saying you are making a correction.

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